


Training and Growth

by The_Awesome_Frost_Ninja



Series: Agape [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Bonding, Canon Related, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Orphan Keith (Voltron), Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-09-06 10:20:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8746558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Awesome_Frost_Ninja/pseuds/The_Awesome_Frost_Ninja
Summary: When the paladins finally get a well deserved day off, Lance decides that he wants to train in close combat. He might have bit off more than he could chew since his sparring partner ends up being no one other than the mullet-head himself. But Lance finds that maybe he could learn a thing or two about the enigma who goes by the name of Keith.





	

**Author's Note:**

> IMPORTANT A/N:  
> Heya people. Some of you might not know me, but I wrote the story Hunted!  
> And this is the continuation of my previous story. For those whom haven't read Hunted and have clicked on this, I highly encourage that you read that first because parts of this story will not make sense if you haven't.... but if you don't want to do that:  
> * SPOILER ALERT*  
> Well, a quick run down is that the paladins went to a planet called Zilate. A monster kidnapped Lance and Keith and Keith got hurt really badly. They bonded and finally became good friends. But Keith almost dies, causing Lance to feel guilty and after some angst with a side of temporary memory loss of the ordeal from Keith, the two ended up growing through a tough time when they tried to train again. But once they had a good chat, they sorted things out and grew closer as friends as a result.
> 
> This is one story that is going to become a mini slow burn series. Unlike the first story, this series will now be comprised of one-shot/two-shots, but they will all be connected. The stories will be building up their friendship and growing affection. This is why the series is called "Agape", since agape is an ancient greek word for the highest form of love. The definition of agape is "a universal, unconditional love that transcends, that serves regardless of circumstances." And I think that will fit pretty well, don't you think? 
> 
> Thanks for your attention, now onward to the story!

"Wait, Lance, you want to do what now?" Shiro asked, blinking at Lance.

 

"I want you to train me in hand to hand combat today," Lance repeated. "You're the best at it and Allura did say that we didn't need to train for a while. It's the perfect time to do some one on one."

 

He wasn't wrong. Allura had told the paladins that they could have the week's equivalent of not training on the training deck. While she said that it was to give them all time to recuperate, the break was secretly meant for Keith and Lance.

 

It had been a few weeks since their previous mission and the intense training fiasco. While their following trainings weren't as eventful as their last, after about a week, Allura had felt guilty and wanted to give them all a proper break. However, the paladins still needed to do some bonding exercise with their lions, but that had to be the less strenuous kind of training. It was the first real days off that they had since they first became paladins. The nearest distress signal was a few days' worth of flying away and it invoked a temporary relaxed environment.

 

However, with the days off coming to a close, what Shiro did not expect was for Lance to stalk him down the hall with the sudden request to train him during their final days off.

 

"While I'm glad that you're ready to get back into training, I am curious as to why."

 

Lance tried to conceal his frown but he couldn't do it well enough to hide it from Shiro.

 

"I need to know that I can at least put up a fight without my blaster," Lance answered. "If I'm ever in a situation where I lose my bayard again I want to be ready to put up a decent fight."

 

Shiro's face softened into a smile. He knew that Lance wanted to not just defend himself, but be able to protect the others.

 

"What about you ask Keith to train with you? He'd be more than happy to teach you." Shiro suggested. He wasn't the only one to notice that Lance and Keith were actually getting along. Shiro wanted to see how long it would last.

 

"What? Keith?" Lance asked. "Why?"

 

He and Keith may have not had a solid fight for a couple of days but it did not mean that he wanted to train with the guy, but it wasn't for the reasons that some would think. Keith hadn't been training properly since their last training. His hesitance was more out of concern than frustration.

 

Shiro blinked at Lance as a small smile grew on his face.

 

"Just try to train with Keith and if doesn't work out then you know where to find me."

 

"But you're better at fighting." Lance stated. It was the only argument he could come up with at the time. Shiro didn't have a bayard causing him to rely on his robotic arm and hand to hand combat experience. He was the obvious choice in teacher.

 

"I'm sorry, Lance, but I'm busy at the moment. I need to check on Pidge's progress and then give Allura an update."

 

That's when Lance remembered that Pidge had holed herself in a secluded part of the castle. She was working on decrypting the information that she had gotten from the Galra base back on Zilate.

 

"And knowing Keith, he'd be on the training deck for most of the day anyway," Shiro's expression became serious, "Besides, I think it would be good for the both of you to work together to get back into the swing of things. Both of you were affected by the whole ordeal the most. It only makes sense that you should help each other out."

 

Lance internally groaned. Shiro had a point that Lance honestly felt like he couldn't defend. Lance let out a small sigh.

 

"Fine," Lance agreed, but with an obvious lack of enthusiasm. "Where is he anyway? I haven't seen him since breakfast."

 

"Last I saw him, he was with Hunk in the kitchen," Shiro replied. "Goodluck." Shiro walked away with a small wave of his hand.

 

Lance couldn't help but sense that Shiro had his ulterior motives, but he decided to ignore them. And so, Lance went to find Keith.

 

* * *

 

"Hunk, remind me what we were trying to make again?" Keith asked.

 

"My grandma would bake this amazing potato bake during Christmas. I was hoping it would turn out similar to it, but…"

 

Both Keith and Hunk stared at the mysterious food content that they had just created. To be frank, it would not have been accurate to call it food at all. It was definitely something, but edible was probably not one of them. It looked like something Coran would make. Hunk was a great chef, there was no mistaking that, but with foreign ingredients sometimes he was prone to make some mistakes.

 

"I think it's moving." Keith continued to stare into the bowl while eyes began to squint.

 

"Really?" Hunk's eyes began to squint down into the bowl as well.

 

It was strange way of having fun, but Keith somehow got roped into helping Hunk cook. Keith might have cut up some of the ingredients, but Hunk did all the work. Most of the time, Keith was sitting, listening to Hunk talk about his appreciation for cuisines and his family. He also talked a lot about a waffle crepe that he wanted to try, claiming that it was on his bucket list when he got back to Earth. Hunk wasn't as talkative as Lance, but Keith still liked hearing what he had to say either way.

 

When Lance walked into the kitchen he saw Hunk and Keith staring intently into a bowl with what looked to be food. It was an odd sight to see. Lance stared at them for a moment.

 

"Are you guys okay or….?" Lance's question drew Hunk's attention, but Keith's eyes never left the bowl.

 

"Lance!" Hunk greeted. "We're trying to work out if it's moving or not."

 

"It's definitely moving." Keith said, still staring at the bowl.

 

Lance took a look for himself. Keith was telling the truth; the 'food' was most definitely moving.

 

"What do we do?" Hunk panicked. "What if it grows into a giant goo monster and eats us!?"

 

"As interesting as that would be to see, how about we throw it out the airlock?" Keith suggested.

 

Long story cut short, the three boys took the moving goo and flushed it out the airlock. The three watched it float in space for a good minute before Hunk mentioned something about doing the dishes. It left Lance and Keith alone together. That is when Lance remembered what he had come to ask in the first place. And without warning he asked Keith to train with him.

 

"Wait what?" Keith stared at him.

 

"Help me train in close combat, please?" Lance asked again. "Shiro said you should because he's busy."

 

At the mention of Shiro, Keith folded his arms, shaking his head at himself.

 

"Of course he said that." Keith muttered. A small expression of amusement appeared on his face for a moment. He obviously knew something that Lance didn't, but in that moment Lance didn't mind.

 

"So how about it? Or are you scared that I'll beat you?" Lance teased.

 

That's all the coaxing that Keith needed.

 

"Fine. I'll do it," Keith agreed. "But it's on my terms, so meet me on the training deck in ten minutes."

 

"Why not right now?" Lance asked.

 

"I'm going to help Hunk with the dishes." Keith replied, walking back to the kitchen.

 

* * *

 

When Lance walked on to the training deck, he saw Keith already there with his jacket off to the side and already doing some arm stretches.

 

"Are you ready?" Keith asked.

 

Lance couldn't help but laugh. Keith's face had been so solemn and the question was the final push for him and Lance just couldn't take it seriously.

 

"You can loosen up, Keith. It's just me." Lance scoffed.

 

Keith was not happy at Lance's obvious amusement with situation.

 

"We're not here to play games, Lance. If we're going to train, it's going to be some serious training," Keith suddenly thought of a brilliant idea. "How about we strike a deal?"

 

"I'm listening." Lance replied.

 

"If you can take me down before I take you down, I'll tell Shiro that I can't teach you." Keith explained.

 

Lance smirked. That sounded easy enough. Lance threw off his jacket to the side and approached Keith.

 

"Don't start crying when you fall flat on your face." Lance put his fists up in a fighting position.

 

Keith remained standing, not even getting in a fighting position. It was in this moment that Lance was convinced that he'd be able to take Keith down with ease. But this all changed in the span of just a few seconds.

 

Lance tried to throw a punch but the next thing he knew, he was on the ground with Keith pinning him down. Keith smirked down at Lance's slightly mortified and flabbergasted expression.

 

"I win." Keith stated, slowly letting go of Lance's wrists. Lance was left lying on the floor in a daze still wondering what exactly had just happened. Lance leapt up.

 

"How did you do that?" Lance asked with his eyes still wide in surprise.

 

"Your form is sloppy." Keith tightened the straps on his fingerless gloves. "You left yourself wide open for an immediate disarm. I knew as soon as I saw how you were standing that I could take you down easy."

 

Lance blinked at Keith. He felt the smallest bubble of annoyance of how sure that Keith sounded, but Lance also knew that Keith really did sound like he knew what he was talking about.

 

"We'll start with your footing. Your feet were too close together," Keith pointed down to Lance's feet. "You need to have one foot in front of the other. But don't have them out too wide. Try to keep them at a shoulder distance. Like this."

 

Keith got into position and demonstrated the stance.

 

"The weight between both feet should be about fifty-fifty. Both feet should be angled slightly to the side and the knees should be facing in the same direction. The rear heel should be raised with the weight placed on the ball of the foot." Keith shifted his back legs and heel to emphasis his point. "By elevating the heel it allows your feet to be able to move quicker. But never stand flatfooted on both feet. It'll just slow you down."

 

Lance couldn't believe what he was hearing and seeing. Any doubt of Keith not being able to teach him sank away into the deepest parts of his mind. If Lance didn't know any better, he would have thought that Keith was a hired personal trainer.

 

"For example, how you're standing now isn't stable enough," Keith shoved Lance with no warning, knocking him down to the ground. Lance let out a grumbled 'hey', but Keith ignored it. "You need to find a better center of balance."

 

Lance was grumbling under his breath as he got back to his feet.

 

"Are you listening?" Keith folded his arms across his chest, returning back to a regular standing position.

 

"How do you all this?" Lance asked.

 

"That's not important," Keith retorted. "So are we going to train or what?"

 

Lance's awe had worn off and he felt a rising urge to punch Keith in the face. But Lance did not want to back down in the unspoken challenge that Keith had offered him.

 

"You're training the very person who's going to take you down, Keith. Whatever you plan on dishing out, I can take it." Lance challenged.

 

"Good." Keith replied with a smirk growing on his face.

 

* * *

 

When it came around time for lunch, Lance was one of the last to appear, dragging himself with heaved breaths. He crawled into the chair next to Hunk and he pressed his face into the table. Pidge looked away from her holopad and had to suppress a laugh.

 

"How was training?" Pidge asked with obvious cheekiness.

 

Keith had told Hunk about it when he was helping with the dishes and as soon as Keith left, Hunk had raced around the castle to tell Pidge. The two of them found it hilarious because they could imagine how Keith would have been able to batter Lance around like a rag doll. Keith was one of the best fighters in their team; it was just unfortunate for Lance that he underestimated Keith.

 

Lance just let out a large groaning sound as a response.

 

"That bad, huh?" Hunk asked.

 

Lance finally lifted his head from the table and his eyes were wide and wild. Pidge could have sworn she saw his eyes twitching.

 

"Keith is either crazy or he just wanted to use me as a punching bag for the past three hours," Lance stated it like it was pure fact. "We spent an hour on how I had to stand!"

 

In a nutshell, Keith had showed no mercy and he had no sympathy for Lance during their training. Lance felt like he had never worked so hard in his life. He had been knocked to the ground so many times that his whole back and behind was bruised and it felt numb.

 

"You asked me to train with you, and that's just what I'm doing." Keith was leaning against the archway near the hall. He had obviously heard Lance's remark.

 

"I would have rather trained with Shiro." Lance grumbled under his breath.

 

Hunk was sitting next to Lance and he didn't hear it, but half way across the room Keith seemed to have supersonic hearing and he glared at Lance.

 

"Like I said before, Lance, if you can manage to knock me down before I knock you down then I'll get Shiro to train with you."

 

"Just you wait and see. I will defeat you. And it will be glorious." Lance glared back at Keith.

 

The two continued to have what looked like a staring contest until Coran came strolling into the dining hall with some food goo for the paladins. He informed the four of them that Allura and Shiro were discussing castle related matters and wouldn't be arriving for quite some time. Lance was clearly disappointed with the lack of Allura's presence. Coran left shortly to do some castle maintenance, claiming that he would eat with Shiro and the princess.

 

Oddly enough, after how heated the argument seemed Keith still sat next to Lance. Pidge and Hunk would have guessed that it was a ruse of some sort in front of Coran, but after he left they didn't start arguing. Instead, Keith and Lance began having a conversation that seemed to follow one that they must have been having during their training session.

 

"To answer your question from before, height and weight can be factors in strength, but not all the time. But I do believe that you have potential to be stronger than me."

 

"So you admit it, I'm stronger." Lance smirked.

 

"No, that's not what I said. What I said was that you have _potential_ to be stronger than me."

 

"You just don't want to admit it," Lance replied. "I'm taking that as a win."

 

Keith let out a huff of laughter which was followed by a smile.

 

"Yeah, sure, that's what it is," The sarcasm was more than clear. "Because you're obviously stronger than me, it's evident by how I keep overpowering you."

 

Keith took a long sip of his drink, hiding his smile in his cup while Lance looked at Keith, both insulted and wounded, but also kind of pleased.

 

"I have to admit, you're actually getting better at comebacks. I almost feel proud," Lance repeated the key word of his last sentence, "Almost."

 

The two both concealed their smiles, but this may have gone unnoticed between the two of them, but Pidge and Hunk saw it as clear as day. Pidge and Hunk looked to each other then back to Keith and Lance. Both of them silently agreed that the interaction wasn't exactly out of the ordinary, but it was different. In a way, it seemed like the two were really comfortable around each other. The two were still both competitive, but there was something different about. In the space where there was only a competitive tension, was now something new.

 

Both Hunk and Pidge knew that the two had been getting along recently, but after they finally started talking again after Keith got his memories back, there had been something different between the two. It was hard to explain but it made the atmosphere around them lighter. They had noticed it before but with only them and Lance and Keith in the room, it was more noticeable.

 

"So, Pidge," Keith suddenly turned his head toward her. "How's the decrypting going?"

 

"Yeah," Lance added. "Have you found anything good yet?"

 

"It could be better," Pidge answered. "It's been hard trying to salvage what was left of the corrupted data, but from what I've found, it sounds like they're looking for something. I don't know what it is yet, but either way, it can't be good."

 

"Was there anything on any other planets running experiments like on Zilate?" Keith asked. When Keith asked this, Lance immediately looked over to him with a concerned expression then back to Pidge.

 

"Well," Pidge was hesitant to answer, but she didn't want any secrets between them. "It's mentioned three other planets undergoing experiments, but there's no data on where or what planets."

 

A silence fell over the dining hall.

 

"I'm sorry." Pidge felt the need to apologise. Lance and Keith shook their heads at her.

 

"You have nothing to be sorry for, it's not your fault," Keith said. "It's the Galra that did this in the first place."

 

"It's a bit scary to think about, isn't it?" Lance wondered aloud. "I mean, we're the paladins of Voltron, when the Galra attack us, it's because we're the enemy. But with those experiments, they're hurting civilians. They're ruining innocent lives by their desire for power just because they can. We're really in war."

 

Lance didn't mean to dull the mood, but another deathly silence fell over the dining hall. Keith took one look at all their crestfallen faces and something within him began to rise. He hated seeing those expressions on their faces. It was when he saw Lance's face that whatever it was rose from his chest and out of his mouth.

 

"We'll stop them," Keith stood up from his chair, causing all eyes to shift on him. "As the paladins of Voltron, we aren't just warriors; we're a symbol of hope. We fight for all those that can't. And we're fighting for those better days where there is peace. And I don't how and I don't know when, but I do know that we will defeat Zarkon. I also know that we'll find your family, Pidge. And Hunk, you'll get to try that waffle crepe that's on your bucket list. And Lance, you'll get to see your family again. End of discussion."

 

Keith sank back down into his seat. Lance, Pidge and Hunk all looked to Keith then to each other. A smile crept its way on to their faces until they all broke out into a laugh. It left Keith sitting there confused at the laughter around him.

 

"Why are you laughing? I was being serious!" Keith attempted to defend himself.

 

"We know you were. And don't get us wrong, the speech itself was uplifting and inspiring, but I was no way expecting that." Hunk explained.

 

"And you sounded so much like Shiro just now." Pidge snorted. Lance agreed, nodding with a smirk.

 

Upon being told, Keith finally cracked a smile. It was true, if it were Shiro or Allura then maybe they would have expected the sudden speech, but the fact that it came from Keith caught them all off guard. Normally, Keith would have felt the slightest amount annoyed at being laughed at, but in that moment it was not the case. The laughter broke the tension around them and everyone became visibly at ease. Keith saw that even Lance was smiling again so Keith found that he couldn't complain. He had felt upset when he saw everyone else upset, but he didn't know why, but there was something about Lance being unhappy that made him particularly uneasy. However, Keith brushed off the thought.

 

The four of them made some casual discussions before Keith realised that the lunch break was going longer than expected.

 

"We've spent a lot of time talking. We should hurry and eat so we can get back to training." Keith stated.

 

"Sure, _Shiro_ ," Lance teased, getting the reaction out Keith that he wanted which was a frown. "I'll probably finish eating before you anyway."

 

"Oh really?" Keith picked up his eating utensils.

 

Lance and Keith began shovelling the food goo into their mouths, it was an odd sight. Pidge discretely leaned over and whispered to Hunk.

 

"Did they seriously just make this into an eating competition?" Pidge asked. Hunk nodded.

 

"Go Lance!" Hunk cheered.

 

The strangest part of it all was the Lance and Keith while in mid-competition were still having a conversation with their mouths full. It was barely coherent, but they still looked like they were communicating with each other. They looked like they were discussing something once again and it was getting more intense.

 

Pidge was the only one who couldn't understand the madness at all.

 

"Do you have any idea what they're saying?" she asked.

 

"I understand what Lance is saying, but I have no clue what Keith is saying. So, most of it doesn't make sense," Hunk whispered back. "I think Lance just said something about not wanting to use Keith as a target."

 

Pidge looked confusedly back at the red and blue duo. The pair had run out of food goo to eat and the conversation was finally coherent.

 

"But what if I actually shoot you?" Lance asked.

 

"Stop making excuses, we're training with our bayards. Are you ready or not?"

 

Neither Lance nor Keith heard the hum of realisation coming from Hunk and Pidge whom were trying to piece together their conversation. It wasn't that they were trying to eavesdrop; it was happening right in front of them, it was hard to ignore it.

 

"Fine! I'll go grab it. I'll meet you there." Lance replied in defeat.

 

As Keith was leaving the room, Lance was strumming his fingers against the table while leaning on his elbow with the other. Once Keith was gone, Lance snapped his head toward Pidge and Hunk.

 

"Can you believe this guy?"

 

Hunk and Pidge blinked at Lance.

 

"Wait, I'm pretty sure that I know what's going on, but you might want to explain." Hunk stated.

 

"Keith wants to do some training with our bayards because he said that I need to practice getting disarmed and shooting at close range fighters. What if I accidentally shoot him?"

 

Pidge shrugged.

 

"Well, the healing pods are just down the hall." It wasn't that she was trying to rub salt in the wounds after what happened on Zilate, and Lance knew that. It was merely Pidge's way of telling him to not worry about it.

 

"Oh ha-ha, you're hilarious, Pidge." Lance let the sarcasm practically drip from his words. He shook his head. "I'll see you guys later….Wait, who won that?"

 

"You both finished at the same time." Hunk replied.

 

Lance began grumbling under his breath. That's when Lance noticed that Keith had left his empty bowl at the table, so while grabbing his own, Lance wordlessly took Keith's as well into the kitchen.

 

Pidge and Hunk exchanged a look at one another. Something was changing between Lance and Keith, but no one knew what. Not yet anyway.

 

* * *

 

Lance fell flat on his back once again. It had to have been the fifteenth time that Keith had one against him during their sparring matches. Every time, Keith would come charging at him he didn't want to shot and so Keith easily disarmed and knocked him to the ground.

 

"Stop hesitating," Keith extended out a hand to him. Lance sighed, taking it. "You have to pretend that I'm the enemy."

 

"I'm not going to shoot at you. Keith, you just got out of a healing pod a bit over a week ago, I'm not going to be the one to put you in one again."

 

Keith decided to not push at it anymore. He deactivated his sword back into its original form.

 

"Fine, but next I think that we should practice some team-up mauvers. For now, let's have a quick break."

 

Lance took in deep breath in relief and deactivated his blaster as well. Keith threw a carton of water over to Lance.

 

"Despite what you're probably thinking, you're definitely improving from this morning. Your kicks are currently your strongest asset," Keith took a sip from his own water carton. "But the way you throw punches still needs work. You keep trying to aim for my face. If you want to temporarily immobilise your enemy, you should aim for the ribs or stomach."

 

After taking large gulps of the water, Lance found himself wondering once more of how Keith had gotten so good at knowing how to fight. How much Keith knew was surprising. Lance wanted to know how he knew.

 

"You know, you never answered my question earlier." Lance leant against the cool wall beside Keith.

 

"What question?"

 

"About all this self-defence stuff, you never told me how you knew so much." Lance clarified. Keith's grip tightened around the carton of water.

 

"Why do you keep asking? I told you that it's not important!" Keith suddenly snapped. Lance immediately threw his hands up in surrender.

 

"I'm sorry I asked. I'm just curious, that's all."

 

A part of Lance regretted asking again once Keith's expression melted into a frown with a sigh.

 

"Let's just say that if you lived through my childhood, you would have been forced to learn." Keith muttered.

 

Lance immediately felt overwhelmed with sympathy. Keith realised this and quickly went to explain.

 

"It's not as bad as I just made it sound. It's just that by being an orphan in the foster care system, sometimes people took that as an opportunity to vent out their own frustrations because who was I going to tell? I didn't have any parents so I was just the best target apparently."

 

"What!?" Lance asked, not failing to hide the growing anger in his voice. Keith tightened his hold on his water carton. Keith's gaze was distant in thought.

 

"There was no one I could trust and I had no one that I could rely on. So, I said to myself that I would fight back. I learnt through experience."

 

Keith glanced back up at Lance. He was staring at him with an expression that Keith didn't know how to describe. It had to be a mix of anger, empathy and something else that he couldn't quite place.

 

"Didn't your foster parents speak up for you?" Lance asked, the tone of anger still carried in his voice.

 

"I didn't talk about it and they never asked. Besides, I never stuck around with one foster family for too long so in the end it just didn't matter."

 

"Why's that?"

 

Keith found himself not wanting to reveal more, but he couldn't help himself but to answer. If it were anyone else he felt like he would have been more reserved, but it was the fact that it was Lance that he found himself still answering his questions. It was like something had come over him and compelled him to speak.

 

"I was a very different person when I was growing up. But I guess you can say that I rebelled a lot. I never connected to anyone. I was alone. And well…" Keith trailed off with a sigh before he continued, "I always felt more like a burden than a person with every family I was placed in so I always did what I could to get kicked out or I ran away and got caught, so I ended up moving around a lot from foster home to foster home."

 

"I'm sorry." That was all Lance thought of to say. Keith just shook his head.

 

"Don't be. It's in the past." Keith wasn't angry, but his tone sounded so neutral that it was unsettling.

 

Keith trying to brush it off made Lance feel annoyed—no, it made him feel _furious_. Of course he wasn't angry at Keith, not at all. It was what happened to Keith as a child that made his head spin.

 

"It doesn't change that you didn't deserve any of it!" Lance stated. Keith didn't expect the outburst. He was actually startled by it. He didn't look at Lance, but he still spoke.

 

"Thank you."

 

He thanked Lance because every once in a while, Keith needed to hear that. Lance may have not have been the first to say it (the first being Shiro), but it was because that it came from Lance that it felt different. He didn't know why, but it felt more comforting.

 

"Our break's over!" Keith went straight back to business. "It's time to get back to training."

 

Lance internally groaned.

 

* * *

 

The day soon came to an end and they all gathered in the dining hall. Lance and Keith were the last to arrive. Both of them walked in. No one could quite hear what they were talking about, but Lance said something that made Keith laugh.

 

"The two of you look to be in good spirits." Shiro smiled.

 

The two sat down at the table.

 

"How did the training go?" Allura asked.

 

"It went amazingly because I'm the greatest." Lance used the usual tone of whenever he tried to hit on her. Pidge and Keith rolled their eyes while Shiro and Hunk sighed. Coran just found it amusing.

 

Allura blinked at Lance for a moment before looking to Keith.

 

"So how did it really go?" Allura asked Keith.

 

Lance frowned since she obviously ignored him. Keith placed down the cup he was drinking from. Lance threw him a pleading look to make it sound good in front of Allura.

 

"Better than expected." Keith answered.

 

"Way better than what he's making it sound like." Lance added.

 

"He's been showing good progress." Keith confirmed. It was as close as Lance was going to get at sounding good in front of Allura.

 

"The two of you sound quite confident." Allura noticed.

 

Both Lance and Keith nodded.

 

"If you two feel that you're ready then perhaps you'd like to see the fruits of your training against the gladiator," Allura suggested. "But I need you both to be sure."

 

"Yes." Lance and Keith said it in unison. However, Shiro did not share the enthusiasm.

 

"Are you sure?" Shiro asked. "Because if you're not ready-"

 

"Shiro, it'll be different this time. We can do this." Keith interrupted. He stared at Shiro with determined eyes.

 

Lance nodded.

 

"We'll have each other's backs."

 

Shiro was still reluctant, but he gave in. If they believed that together they could do it then Shiro knew that he had no room to argue.

 

"Alright." Shiro surrendered.

 

Allura took Shiro's agreeing as the finalisation of their training.

 

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow morning you'll face the gladiator," Allura looked over to Shiro. "This also gives us the opportunity to see how our training went as well, Shiro."

 

It took Lance a moment, but it finally clicked in his head what the princess had just said.

 

"Wait what!?" Lance half screamed. "So you didn't want to train me because you were training Allura?"

 

"Actually…" Shiro trailed off with a small smile and a hand scratching the behind of his head.

 

Allura chuckled.

 

"It's actually the other way around. I've been training Shiro," she explained. "All Alteans were taught from young ages to be able to fight and strategize. I've been training with Shiro on battle tactics rather than having to rely on the strength of his galran arm alone."

 

Coran nodded. He knew about the training from the beginning. Pidge and Hunk both looked surprised at this new development, but Keith did not, he just continued casually eating.

 

"Why aren't you surprised?" Lance asked, staring at Keith suspiciously.

 

"He told me about it this morning." Keith continued eating.

 

Lance suddenly put two and two together. The deal that been between them was that if he could knock Keith to the ground that he would get Shiro to train with him. Even if Lance had won, Shiro would have busy training with Allura. Keith had been so sure that he would not lose. It made Lance extremely irritated.

 

"So you got to train with the princess and I got stuck with Keith?" Lance complained.

 

All Lance could imagine was a scenario of where Allura would be training him and suddenly they would fall over into each other's arms against the floor, staring into each other's eyes until the pull of their attraction would be so strong that they would inevitably kiss. What could he say? He was a hopeless romantic.

 

"You do know that I'm sitting right next to you, right?" Keith glared at him.

 

"I know." Lance boldly replied.

 

Keith sighed shaking his head. He knew that Lance was only bitter because he wanted to have the 'alone time' with Allura. Keith didn't understand it and he just didn't question it. But it did make him endlessly bothered, but instead of starting a fight over it, Shiro stepped into the conversation.

 

"Alright, that's enough you too." Shiro wanted to frown. Maybe he should have told Lance outright that he was training with Allura.

 

Lance looked so disappointed that it reminded Hunk of another time he had the same face. Hunk suddenly let out a chuckle.

 

"You making that face reminds me of the time when were at the party and you tried to talk to that girl, but what you said was-"

 

"That's all they need to hear!" Lance interrupted. It was obviously an embarrassing memory.

 

Pidge and Keith instantly wanted to hear the story.

 

"Is this before I enrolled?" Pidge asked.

 

"Yeah," Hunk continued his story despite Lance's protests. "Lance tried this pickup line. It was something stupid like 'are you from Tennessee? Because you're the only ten I see'. She blinked at him a few times before she just walked away. Then boom, he had the same disappointed face."

 

Pidge and Keith started laughing. Lance flushed the tiniest bit red at the embarrassment.

 

"Lance, really? You expected that to work? That's lame." Pidge chuckled.

 

"It's a classic pick-up line." Lance snapped his head toward Hunk. "Hunk, you're my BFF. How could you betray me like this?" He quietly hissed.

 

Hunk laughed. "I would say I'm sorry, but I'm totally not."

 

That's when Lance concluded that Hunk had been hanging around Pidge too much.

 

Shiro in response to the conversation rested his hand against his forehead with a sigh. In the meanwhile, Allura and Coran weren't exactly sure what was going on.

 

"Wait, I don't get it," Keith frowned. "Was she from Tennessee?"

 

Everyone stared at Keith. He had been laughing but he didn't understand the funniest part of it. Lance let out a scoff and he was about to ask if Keith lived in a hole for not understanding the reference, but then he remembered their conversation when they were training and the fact that Keith lived in a shack in the middle of the desert. So instead, Lance attempted to explain it.

 

"No. Well, I don't think she was. Tennessee sounds like 'ten I see', because when someone's a ten, they're hot. You know, like on a scale from one to ten."

 

Pidge put a hand over his face to conceal her smile during the entire explanation. Not that Keith would admit to it and that Pidge would say anything about it, but she knew that Keith only laughed because of how embarrassed Lance was getting over the story. It was bizarrely endearing.

 

"Oh," Keith began nodding. "Pidge was right, that's lame."

 

Pidge and Keith both quietly laughed once more.

 

"Is using those kinds of pickup lines a normal custom at human parties?" Allura asked.

 

Shiro shook his head.

 

"Not usually."

 

"Well, I'd like to know a bit more about parties on Earth," Coran said. "How much different are they?"

 

Everyone added a fact or a thought and it became a lengthy discussion. Keith was hearing a lot for the first time. Keith had only been to one party and that was the one back on Arus. He never went to a single party back on Earth. In fact, back on Earth he never even had a proper birthday party; he never had friends and he never stuck around one place for too long so he never had a party. The closest thing he had to a party was getting a small chocolate cupcake with a candle in it from one of his foster mothers when he was six.

 

As they continued to speak and laugh about how fun the parties were back on Earth, Lance's smile began fading. When he thought no one saw him, he frowned and looked away in thought. But Lance was not paying close enough attention, because Keith still noticed.

 

* * *

 

Normally Keith would find it easy to fall asleep. As soon as his head would hit his pillow normally he'd be sleeping like the dead. But instead of sleeping like he normally would, he was tossing and turning. He was tired but his mind was still wide awake. He decided that maybe going for a walk might quiet down his brain.

 

When the castle was on night mode, the castle got particularly colder. Keith didn't exactly hate the cold, but he preferred the heat. Keith draped his blanket over his shoulders, using it like a shawl. He didn't know exactly why, but he felt himself drawn into the direction of the observation deck. What Keith did not expect was to see Lance, awake, sitting by the viewing glass, looking out into the stars. He was wearing his blue sleepwear along with his blue lion slippers. No one was quite sure if he found them or if he made them. To be fair, no one really asked, but it still remained unclear.

 

"Lance?" Keith called out to him. Lance was immediately startled and jumped at the sudden voice.

 

"Keith, don't scare me like that!" Lance groaned.

 

"What are you doing out here so late?" Keith made his way over to him.

 

"I could say the same to you," Lance suddenly noticed that underneath the blanket, Keith was still in his casual clothing, the only change was that his jacket and boots were off. "You do know that we have sleepwear in the cupboards in our rooms, right?"

 

"What's the point? It's easier to stay in these clothes."

 

Lance stared at him. He was about to say something about hygiene, but he just ended up shaking his head at himself.

 

"Nevermind."

 

"You only come out here when you're upset," Keith suddenly said. "And you were upset before in the dining hall."

 

Lance suddenly looked up at Keith. A part of him wondered how he knew, but ever since what happened on Zilate, Lance had found that the observation deck was like his own sanctuary where he could think.

 

"You're missing Earth." Keith realised it aloud.

 

Lance nodded. Keith slowly sat himself down next to Lance.

 

"I know this will sound a bit selfish," Lance began, "But after what you were talking about today and after what we were talking about parties at dinner, it made me think of my family back on Earth and it's just got me thinking, you know?"

 

"So you've been thinking about your family," Keith repeated. "Why is that making you upset?"

 

Keith tried not making how he was asking questions to be awkward, but it still came out that way. However, it was lucky for him that Lance understood and still answered regardless.

 

"They don't even know where I am. And I don't know if they're safe or if they're happy or if they're looking for me or if they think that I'm dead or if they'll…." Lance's voice quietened down as he finished his sentence, "…or if they'll forget me while I'm gone."

 

Those questions kept Lance up at night and they tore him up inside. And Keith was no fool; he could see the pain and fear on Lance's face. And oddly enough, he actually understood it.

 

"As crazy as this might sound, I think I know how you feel." Keith said.

 

Of course this confused Lance.

 

"I know what you're thinking. How could I know? Well, I'm going to tell you a little story," Keith pulled the blanket closer over his shoulders. "I wasn't always an orphan, Lance. I did have a family once."

 

Lance slightly tilted his head and his eyes widened. Keith looked him in the eyes and he explained.

 

"It was just me and my dad. We lived in a small farmhouse outside the city. I can't say I remember a lot of it because I was so young, but I do remember that I was happy."

 

Keith suddenly looked away, wrapping his arms around his legs and what began as a smile, quickly vanished into a grimace.

 

"But when I was about five years old, the house caught on fire." Keith continued looking down at his socks. "No one, including myself, knows how I survived that night. When the firefighters came apparently I was lying on the front lawn unconscious. Somehow I made it out, but my dad didn't."

 

Keith let out a deep breath in an attempt to vent the horrible feeling gathering his chest like someone was tightening it.

 

"The whole house was burnt to the ground. There was nothing left. All I had left of my dad was my memories. Thinking about it now, I can barely remember what he looked like. All the pictures of him were destroyed in the fire. When I close my eyes and try to think of his face, I can't remember it in detail, all I know is that he looked kind of like Shiro. I just remember very basic things like her hair and eye colour. And I don't remember how his voice sounded exactly, it's all just a blur now," Keith confessed as his eyes uncontrollably began to water. 

 

At this point Keith could feel Lance's burning gaze on him. Keith was not going to cry, he refused. Keith pinched the bridge of his nose keeping his own tears away and he cleared his throat.

 

"I'm making this sound like a sob-story, but I do have a point to this. What I want to say is that you can take comfort in the fact that there's no such thing as forgetting someone you love. Memories may fade, but the little moments are the ones that you cherish the most and they're the ones that stay with you. They won't forget you, Lance. And I know you won't forget them."

 

Lance gradually nodded, taking to heart what Keith had just said. Lance remembered thinking once that he didn't know a lot about Keith. But now Keith was telling him a lot that he honestly did not expect to ever hear. Keith was someone who enjoyed his privacy so it was strange to hear, but it was a good kind of strange.

 

"I've never told anyone about that." Keith admitted aloud.

 

That really surprised Lance. He had half-expected for Keith to say that Shiro knew, but that had not been the case.

 

"Not even Shiro? Why tell me?" Lance asked. He didn't have the intention of insulting him. He just got lucky that Keith didn't take it that way.

 

"Because I trust you." Keith replied with a tone that did not have a single shred of doubt. 

 

Lance didn't admit to it, but when Keith had said that, it made him unusually happy. Lance knew that Keith and Shiro were close, but Keith had just told him something that no other person knew. The more Lance learnt about Keith, the more Lance's old perception of him began to die. Back in the Garrison, Lance had thought that Keith was this arrogant, talented, grumpy and perfect pilot that was 'too cool' for friends. But that was back then.

 

In that moment, to Lance, the remnants of the old view of Keith as 'perfect' completely faded away because that's not who Keith was.

 

To put it simply, Keith was a person. He wasn't perfect and he didn't have the perfect life that Lance had once imagined him to have. The thought of Keith's 'perfect life' was once part of the reason why Lance had gotten so jealous of him back at the Garrison. To Lance, Keith was the perfect pilot with a perfect life. It was part of why he made Keith his rival. But that was all a fantasy he had concocted in his head. Keith didn't have a perfect life.

 

If anything, after getting to know Lance, Keith was the jealous one. He was envious of the life that Lance had. It was simple, but it was the simplicity that Keith craved. Lance had a loving family and friends and a place to call home. It was a simple and stable life. To Keith, that was all he ever wanted, but it was something he never had, or rather, what he thought he couldn't ever have. But, of course, Keith would never admit to that.

 

Seeing Keith hugging his knees to his chest made a familiar feeling of anger rise in Lance's chest. Keith didn't deserve all the bad things that happened to him. Keith was a good person and it just wasn't fair.

 

"Well, enough about me," Keith suddenly said. It was as if he knew what Lance was thinking about. "This was meant to be about you. I didn't mean to try a guilt you into not being homesick, I-"

 

"It's okay, you don't have to explain. I know you weren't trying to put me on a guilt trip. What you told me helped, really," Lance interjected. His face suddenly softened. "Keith, I'm glad you told me."

 

Keith released the grip around his legs and stretched his legs out. Lance took that as a good sign.

 

"I'm glad that you listened." Keith replied.

 

The two fell into a comfortable silence. It was peaceful, but Keith eventually spoke up.

 

"So, what else do you miss about Earth besides your family?" Keith asked.

 

"We don't need to talk about that." Lance reassured, thinking that Keith felt an obligation to listen to him after he had done most of the talking.

 

"I want to know." Keith insisted. He was never really the talking type, but he did like to listen. And with that, Lance needed no further encouragement.

 

"I miss the beach. During most of my summers I would go to Varadero beach, where there was a pizza shack where you could sit at and look out at the water. I love it there."

 

Lance continued speaking about many other places and things he missed. Keith sat beside him, listening attentively the entire time. As he listened he noticed that there was something like a glimmer in Lance's eyes when he would recall anything he enjoyed. And Lance had a smile that would grow on his face that was unlike his usual smirks. It was a smile born by of pure fondness in reminiscing.

 

By talking about the places he loved, it made Lance so content that he couldn't conceal a smile. And without even realising it, Keith found himself smiling too.

 

* * *

 

"Are you sure that you're both ready for this?" Shiro asked once more. He wanted to be sure.

 

Both Lance and Keith vigorously nodded.

 

"Let me at it! I was born ready." Lance remarked. Keith rolled his eyes.

 

"We can do this, Shiro." Keith reassured.

 

Shiro let out a deep breath.

 

"Alright, team Voltron, we'll start off with a practice round. Prepare yourselves."

 

The gladiator dropped down. Keith felt a relief that all he saw was the gladiator. He didn't see visions of the monster he had once faced. He was ready and he felt calm. The gladiator may have been set to a smaller level, but it was still difficult to evade and to attack. In fact, Hunk managed to save Pidge in the first twenty seconds of the simulation by drawing its attention away from her.

 

Before Shiro had a chance to do anything, both Lance and Keith executed an unspoken plan. Lance whistled and shot directly at the gladiator's head. The gladiator came charging at Lance, but he looked more than prepared. He pulled up his shield in time before it could strike him. He pushed against knocking the gladiator and he round house kicked it backward, making it temporarily disoriented. That's when Keith struck the gladiator right through its back. It took a moment for the damaged gladiator to dematerialize and disappeared.

 

They won the practice round in record time.

 

"Well done, paladins!" Coran spoke over the internal communicator. "But now it's time for the real thing, so please return to your positions."

 

While going back to their previous positions, when Keith and Lance passed each other they high fived. It was loud enough to echo through the training deck.

 

"That sounded solid. Nice." Hunk whispered to Lance.

 

Shiro signaled Allura with a thumb up and she began a countdown.

 

"3….2….1."

 

A part of Shiro wanted to test what he was learning with Allura, but Lance and Keith beat him to it. Together they weren't just shielding or moving each other out of the way, the two managed to protect the others as well. The two kept their shields up and went for the defensive approach. After keeping up a protective pace of the team when the gladiator the pair wordlessly exchanged a glance and nodded.

 

The two were in complete sync. Their movements around each other were almost like they were dancing. The movements were smooth and graceful. With every dodge and hit at the gladiator was caught up in the whirlwind that was Lance and Keith.

 

The others couldn't help, but idly stand by and watch in awe.

 

"Shouldn't we be helping them?" Hunk asked as they all watched from the side lines. Both Hunk and Pidge looked to Shiro. He shook his head and rose up a hand as if to tell the two to stay where they were.

 

"Let's see how this plays out."

 

Even if they got hit, the other would help them back up and they continued fighting. Once the gladiator got caught up in a two on one attack, it could not break the loop. Lance and Keith moved around each other and used attack techniques that no one had ever seen them use before.

 

While Lance expertly shot at the gladiator, it attempted to strike Keith from his back. Keith didn't have time to twist his body around, but he still blocked the strike. The gladiator quickly recovered from the block and swung the staff into Lance's direction. Lance dodged the weapon, bending his back on instinct. It seemed like his years of playing limbo at parties was finally paying off. Keith used the opening to slice off its hand. This gave Lance the opportunity to finally give the finishing blows between the gladiator's eyes and chest. They were direct hits.

 

As the gladiator eventually dematerialized, Hunk and Pidge cheered from the distance. It was only in that moment while still panting from the fight that Lance and Keith realised that the others had been watching them fight the gladiator instead of fighting it as well. The two both thought that they got a little bit carried away in the moment.

 

"Nice shooting back there!" Keith lightly nudged Lance's shoulder.

 

"Nice shooting? Forget that, what about that killer block you did?" Lance playfully punched Keith in the arm. "That was awesome!"

 

"That was nothing compared to your dodge!" Keith insisted.

 

Oddly enough the conversation only got more heated from there. It was strange that they were complimenting each other as it was, but it only escalated and got even stranger.

 

"I think that you cutting off its hand surpasses that!" Lance yelled.

 

"You took it down! That cancels out anything I did!" Keith shouted back.

 

"But that's only because you were distracting it and got its weapon away!" Lance screamed.

 

The yelling was a lot like when they were arguing and they were both getting annoyed and frustrated very quickly. The others just stared incredulously at the duo as the witnessed the whole thing. Were Lance and Keith seriously starting a fight by complimenting each other? Yes, yes they were.

 

Even Coran and Allura from the spectating deck were getting confused over the banter. Coran was the first the comment on the situation.

 

"Humans sure are strange."

 

Allura couldn't help but nod, agreeing with Coran's remark.

 

"But they are remarkable." Allura added.

 

Shiro honestly didn't know if he should break up the 'fight' because it wasn't a normal fight. In fact, he wasn't sure if it was a fight at all. It was rare enough if Lance or Keith complimented each other, but after that training they were and they were making an argument about it. None of that made sense to anyone, but if anyone could make a fight about cheering each other on then it would be Lance and Keith.

 

In the end, Shiro stepped in to stop the pseudo-arguing by using positive reinforcement.

 

"That was incredible, you two." Shiro stated.

 

The pair smiled at one another as Pidge and Hunk joined in to the conversation.

 

"Lance you were all like _POW POW POW_! And Keith, you were all like _WOOO WHISH WACK_! It was just so…so awesome!" Hunk gave his own mini applause for the two.

 

"I agree with Hunk. You've both improved in the course of one day. It shouldn't be possible, but I think the two of you tend to defy odds." Pidge added with a smile.

 

"Well I'd hope so," Lance sighed and gestured to Keith. "This guy made me train the whole day with him. We only had three breaks."

 

"The improvement still shows," Keith chimed in with a soft smile still on his face. "We really do make a good team."

 

Lance could have sworn that he saw something like a twinkle in Keith's eyes, but he thought that his mind must have been playing tricks on him. But after Keith's sudden proclamation, Lance held out a fist.

 

Keith stared at Lance's fist and blinked. He wasn't exactly sure what Lance wanted so he took a wild guess. Keith slowly and hesitantly tried to high-five Lance's closed fist. Lance took a moment to register what had just happened.

 

"No, no, no. It's meant to be a fist bump." Lance laughed, keeping his fist held out.

 

Keith silently realised and held out a fist. Lance did the rest, gently bumping his fist against Keith's. Before Lance was going to jokingly ask if that was his first time fist bumping someone, Keith smiled down at his fist.

 

"So that's a fist bump."

 

Lance, Hunk and Pidge remained in a shocked silence. Hunk placed a hand over his chest and slightly dipped back and was the first to break the silence.

 

"That has to be the most innocent thing I've ever heard." Hunk cooed.

 

Keith immediately felt embarrassed while Pidge connected two and two together.

 

"Wait, Keith, you didn't know what a fist bump was?" she asked.

 

"Kinda," Keith replied. "I'd seen people do it before but I didn't know that it was called a fist bump."

 

"Keith, buddy," Lance slung his arm over Keith's shoulders. "We have a lot to teach you."

 

A conversation between the four continued as Shiro spectated with a smile and his arms folded. It made him feel nothing but happiness. Shiro had always worried about Keith being able to make friends. Keith had him, but the dynamic between them was different because Shiro was older and the two acted more like brothers than friends. Keith never had friends his age, so seeing him in that moment, smiling and laughing with the others, it made Shiro happier than anyone would ever know.

 

* * *

 

"So what do you think about this upcoming mission?" Lance asked, dodging Keith's kick.

 

Only a few days had passed since they fought together against the gladiator. Without having to say anything, Lance and Keith knew that training together would become a regular occurrence. Keith still enjoyed training alone, but sparring with Lance was something he was actually growing fond of.

 

"A nearby distress beacon tends to mean that it's the Galra. I'm in some desperate need for some pay back for that monster they made, so would say that I'm looking forward to it. You?" Keith blocked one of Lance's punches before he attempted to counter.

 

Lance had made a quick habit of talking when they were meant to be sparring. During their first training session, Keith had ignored it, but after their training with the gladiator, Keith let it slide and would talk back.

 

"I'm excited to kick some Galra butt too." Lance replied.

 

"You sound a bit too excited about that," Keith tried to kick Lance once more. Lance barely had time to dodge. "You're still not as good as you think you are though." Keith teased.

 

"And you're just that good, aren't you, hotshot?" Lance smirked as he kept evading Keith's punches.

 

Keith let out a small chuckle that followed up by a smile.

 

"You do that a lot these days." Lance didn't mean to say it aloud, but it slipped out of his mouth before he had a chance to stop himself.

 

Keith was almost caught off guard by Lance's statement, almost getting kicked in the stomach. He luckily leapt back before Lance could get him.

 

"What have I been doing?" Keith asked, now it was his turn to evade Lance's attacks.

 

"Don't worry about it, it's nothing." Lance tried to punch him again. Keith didn't even have to try and evade it, he did it easily by walking backwards. Lance's punches were getting sloppy.

 

"You're not concentrating," Keith reminded him, deciding to not take advantage of Lance's obvious lack of focus. "Just tell me."

 

Lance quickly gave in and admitted what he was thinking.

 

"You're smiling and laughing." Lance stated. Keith caught Lance's fist before it collided with his face.

 

"What?" Keith blinked at him as the two momentarily stopped sparring. The two pulled away from each other.

 

Lance almost felt embarrassed for telling him, but he hoped that by explaining himself that it would make more sense.

 

"You never really used to smile or laugh before, but lately you have been." Lance clarified.

 

"Well, isn't that a normal thing when you're happy?" Keith shrugged.

 

It just showed to Lance how much he had previously assumed of Keith. This was because despite Keith's tough exterior, deep down he was a happy person. And while Keith was still short tempered, he had a good heart under the layers of self-preservation he had put up in order to survive when he was young. Lance had honestly never met anyone like him before. Keith was different.

 

"Now that you mention it, you've been smiling more too and I'm not talking about those cocky smirks. I'm talking about a smile-smile." Keith pointed out.

 

And it was in that moment that Lance realised to himself that despite what he missed back on Earth and the risk of being a paladin of Voltron and as crazy as it all sounded, he found that he was actually happy as well.

 

"How about we get back to sparring?" Lance suggested.

 

The two returned back into fighting positions. It was a good few minutes of some solid blocks, punches and kicks. But the previous conversation must have made Keith lose part of his focus because that's when Lance realised what he had done. He had finally pinned Keith down. It was the first sparring match he had ever won.

 

"You actually pinned me down." Keith blinked, but a small ghost of a smile appeared on his face.

 

"You sound surprised." Lance smirked, but internally he was also surprised.

 

"I call it a strike of luck." Keith stated, causing Lance to completely grin and shake his head.

 

"Face it. You lost. I won."

 

"It's really a shame that your brain isn't as big as your ego." Keith meant to say it with more sass, but instead his voice came out gentle and his tone held nothing but fondness.

 

Lance laughed. "You're resorting to insulting me? Now, I know that I won." He held the same tone of fondness in his voice.

 

The two let out a huff of laughter, but after that came one of the strangest moments that the two could not describe.

 

Once the amusement and mild heat of sparring had passed, neither of them moved. Looking at each other they were silent. The silence seemed to connect them in a way that words couldn't. It was the strangest thing. An odd feeling had stirred within them. It wasn't adrenaline that they felt. In fact, it wasn't even something physical even though it felt like their stomachs were flipping.

 

The sudden new tension was something that neither of them could explain or knew to react to. It was so foreign and so new that it felt both pleasant and petrifying. It made no sense, but whatever it was, the feeling was growing. But despite the unknown, they still had their faces a few inches away from each other and neither tore away from the others gaze.

 

It was barely noticeable to either of the two but Lance begun to sluggishly dip his head downward while Keith stared at his lips. Both were entranced. Both he and Lance were ready to be consumed by the new tension between them. Keith was always someone whom relied more on instinct, so if he had a feeling, he'd normally act on it without hesitation. But with what he was experiencing, it was like it was drowning him and that scared him. Upon realising that the foreign feeling was about to overtake him, Keith snapped himself out of his trance-like state.

 

"L-Lance." Keith didn't mean to choke out a stutter, but he didn't even realise that he did. "You can let go of me now."

 

"Huh?" Lance snapped his head backwards, he also came back to his senses, immediately letting go of Keith and scattering to get back on his feet. "Oh! Right! Sorry."

 

As Keith stood back up there was a noticeable distance between the two. Neither could look each other in the eye. Both of them didn't know what had happened between them. It couldn't be explained. After a clearly uncomfortable silence, both of them tried to speak simultaneously.

 

"Well I uh-"

"M-Maybe I should-"

 

The two immediately stopped from hearing the other. Another silence followed when the other thought that the other was going to speak. Keith cleared his throat and spoke first.

 

"You go first." Keith insisted.

 

"We're cool, aren't we?" Lance didn't forget to use hand gestures to emphasise his question.

 

Lance honestly didn't know why he asked that question, but after the strange tension between the two of them, he couldn't help but wonder if it was the tension of anger. Deep down he knew it wasn't anger, but he also didn't know what it was.

 

Keith nodded instantly.

 

"Yeah. Why wouldn't we be?" Keith slowly asked.

 

"There's no reason at all, I just thought that maybe…um…" Lance trailed off. What was he trying to say? He didn't know.

 

That's when Lance regretted asking the question and Keith regretted asking a question back.

 

"So." Keith tried to fill the silence once more, but he didn't know what else to say.

 

Both of them didn't want to talk about whatever had just happened. With a small silence between them Lance immediately took the opportunity and just yelled the first thing he could come up with.

 

"I think I hear Hunk calling me, I'll see you later!" Lance blurted out and he power walked out. He just needed to get out of there as soon as possible.

 

Once Lance was out of the room Keith just stood there and blinked at the ground before going to grab his jacket. That's when Keith noticed that Lance had left his behind.

 

Lance's jog morphed into a run while his fingers traced down his face to then linger on his lips. While back on the training deck, Keith carted a hand through his own hair as he leant against the wall. The sweat slicked his hair into place. And despite being on other sides of the castle, Lance and Keith both had the same thought running through their minds.

 

_What was that?_

 

Surely it had just been the heat of the moment at training, right? That the adrenaline was messing with their heads? That had to be the only explanation because what was growing between them was just friendship….right?

 

At least, that's what they let themselves believe.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: So what did you guys think? Love it? Hate it? Want to see more?  
> Also, I feel the need to state that Keith's backstory was made up for the sake of this series's universe.  
> The next instalment shouldn't be too long away.
> 
> EDIT: Since the airing of season 2, I have changed Keith's background story in this so it matches more canonically. Previously, it was just him and his mother, but I've changed it to his dad.
> 
> Please leave a comment or a kudos!  
> Thanks for reading!


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